Gibson bucks GOP on tax deal

Published 11:55 pm, Monday, December 19, 2011

Photo: Chip Somodevilla

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WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 19: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reads a list of quotes by Senate Democrats during a brief news conference with Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) (C) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) (L) after a House GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol December 19, 2011 in Washington, DC. Boehner said he expects the House to reject a short-term plan to extend the tax cuts for another two months that passe the Senate last week. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) less

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 19: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reads a list of quotes by Senate Democrats during a brief news conference with Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) (C) and Majority Leader Eric ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla

Gibson bucks GOP on tax deal

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WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Gibson said he would buck fellow Republicans and vote for a temporary extension of unemployment benefits and lower payroll tax rates, even as the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives decided to postpone a vote on the measure planned for Monday evening.

The extension passed the Democrat-controlled Senate on Saturday in an overwhelming bipartisan 89-10 vote.

The House leadership was weighing moving ahead with the vote on Tuesday. If the bill fails, some 160 million workers could see the withholding for Social Security rise starting Jan. 1.

Rank-and-file House Republicans backed away from the package over the weekend, forcing Speaker John Boehner to side with them after a conference call Saturday. He said a temporary extension was simply "kicking the can down the road," and that a full-year solution should be adopted. There is no agreement on how to pay for such a package, which could cost up to $200 billion.

Gibson agreed with Boehner's concerns, but said he would vote for the current measure anyway.

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"We should immediately vote to go to conference with the Senate to reach an agreement that achieves the yearlong goal which everyone desires," said the Kinderhook Republican Monday afternoon. "As we pursue that, I also plan to support the two-month stopgap to ensure our constituents do not face a tax increase."

Democrats, including Rep. Paul D. Tonko of Amsterdam, planned to vote for the Senate deal and accused Republicans who opposed it of turning their back on middle-class workers.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-Brooklyn, told the Times Union the House GOP was "playing games" and said Democrats have been given "a gift" by Republicans willing to vote for middle-class tax increases. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Boehner was risking a tax increase "just because a few angry tea partiers raised their voices."

On Monday, Boehner pushed for more negotiations, even as Reid ruled out new talks.

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"It's time to stop the nonsense. We can resolve these differences and we can do it in a way that provides certainty for job creators and others," said Boehner, R-Ohio.

That left the two parties approaching Christmas-week gridlock over an effort to pass core elements of President Barack Obama's jobs program — renewal of the tax cuts and long-term unemployment benefits — that Republican and Democratic leaders alike said they favored.

It was the latest and likely the last such partisan confrontation in a year of divided government that brought the Treasury to the brink of a first-ever default last summer, and more than once pushed the vast federal establishment to the edge of a partial shutdown.

This time, unlike the others, Republican divisions were prominently on display.

The two-month measure had the full support of the GOP leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, who had initially told reporters he was optimistic the House would sign on. Senate negotiators had tried to agree on a compromise to cover a full year, but were unable to come up with enough savings to offset the cost and prevent deficits from rising.

The two-month extension is a fallback, and officials say that when McConnell personally informed Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of the deal at a private meeting, they said they would check with their rank and file.

Not surprisingly, the White House weighed in on the side of Obama's Democratic allies.

Spokesman Jay Carney said Boehner was for the two-month stopgap bill "before he was against it" — a claim that the House speaker flatly denied.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Carney added, "It is not our job to negotiate between him and Senate Republicans."

McConnell's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ironically, until the House rank and file revolted, it appeared that Republicans had outmaneuvered Obama on one point: The two-month measure that cleared the Senate required him to decide within 60 days to allow construction on a proposed oil pipeline that promises thousands of construction jobs. Obama had threatened to veto legislation that included the requirement, then did an about-face.

The President recently announced he was delaying a decision on the pipeline until after the 2012 elections, meaning that while seeking a new term, he would not have to choose between disappointing environmentalists who oppose the project and blue-collar unions that support it.

The provision relating to the Keystone XL pipeline first surfaced in the House, where Boehner and the leaders had used it as an incentive to persuade conservatives to approve an extension of the payroll tax cut that many claimed had failed to create jobs.

The Senate-passed bill, as well as one that cleared the House last week, also would avert a threatened 27 percent cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

There was no controversy on that provision, or much of one on anything but the duration of an extension.

Democrats gleefully distributed evidence of GOP disagreement, including comments from Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Lugar of Indiana and others urging the House to approve the two-month measure.

But first-term House Republicans were unmoved.

"What (the Senate) sent us over was an insult to the American people," said Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill.

"I don't care about political implications" of letting taxes go up, said Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning. "We will stay here as long as it takes in order to do what's right for the American people. That means working on Christmas, New Year's and other days. It's time to get the job done."